The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In plant development and improvement, genetic improvements are made in the plant, either through selective breeding or genetic manipulation, and when a desirable improvement is achieved, a commercial quantity is developed by planting and harvesting seeds over several generations. Not all seeds express the desired traits and, thus, these seeds need to be culled from the population. To hasten the process of bulking up the population, statistical samples are taken and tested to cull seeds from the population that do not adequately express the desired trait.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,180 (filed Feb. 28, 2007); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,430 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,431 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,432 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,434 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,435 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,180 (filed Feb. 27, 2007); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/680,611 (filed Feb. 27, 2007), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose apparatus and systems for the automated sampling of seeds as well as methods of sampling, testing and bulking seeds.